A Haunting in Venice is both the best Kenneth Branagh film and the best Agatha Christie adaptation in decades. Adapted from the famed mystery writer’s 1969 novel Hallowe’en Party, Branagh returns as Hercule Poirot, the iconic Belgian detective with a penchant for sweets and the world’s most mustachioed mustache. This time the year is 1947 and we are in the Floating City. World War II has just ended and the melancholy of death and despair hangs over everything, despite the beautiful setting.
Recently retired, Poirot is lured back into the game via frenemy Ariadne Oliver, an avatar for Christie herself. The two attend a seance thrown by Rowena Drake (a striking Kelly Reilly), an opera singer who has run out of money and reasons to live. Her daughter Alicia (Rowan Robinson) drowned in the canal just the year before. Rowena empowers the infamous, “unholy” witch Mrs. Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh...
Recently retired, Poirot is lured back into the game via frenemy Ariadne Oliver, an avatar for Christie herself. The two attend a seance thrown by Rowena Drake (a striking Kelly Reilly), an opera singer who has run out of money and reasons to live. Her daughter Alicia (Rowan Robinson) drowned in the canal just the year before. Rowena empowers the infamous, “unholy” witch Mrs. Reynolds (Michelle Yeoh...
- 9/18/2023
- by Dan Mecca
- The Film Stage
With A Haunting in Venice opening this weekend, we wanted to know what film in Kenneth Branagh’s long and illustrious directing career has been your favorite? Have his Shakespeare tales been your type of movie or were his more mainstream films like Thor and Cinderella more your speed? Click your favorite and let us know in the comments why.
Favorite Kenneth Branagh Directed FilmHenry V (1989)Dead Again (1991)Peter's Friends (1992)Much Ado About Nothing (1993)Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)In The Bleak Midwinter (1995)Hamlet (1996)Love Labour's Lost (2000)As You Like It (2006)The Magic Flute (2006)Sleuth (2007)Thor (2011)Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014)Cinderella (2015)Murder on the Orient Express (2017)All is True (2018)Artemis Fowl (2020)Belfast (2021)Death on the Nile (2022)A Haunting in Venice (2023)Submit Vote HereView Results Here
The post Poll: Favorite Kenneth Branagh Directed Film appeared first on JoBlo.
Favorite Kenneth Branagh Directed FilmHenry V (1989)Dead Again (1991)Peter's Friends (1992)Much Ado About Nothing (1993)Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (1994)In The Bleak Midwinter (1995)Hamlet (1996)Love Labour's Lost (2000)As You Like It (2006)The Magic Flute (2006)Sleuth (2007)Thor (2011)Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014)Cinderella (2015)Murder on the Orient Express (2017)All is True (2018)Artemis Fowl (2020)Belfast (2021)Death on the Nile (2022)A Haunting in Venice (2023)Submit Vote HereView Results Here
The post Poll: Favorite Kenneth Branagh Directed Film appeared first on JoBlo.
- 9/17/2023
- by Brad Hamerly
- JoBlo.com
This generation of filmgoers mostly probably thinks of Irish actor-director Kenneth Branagh as Agatha Christie’s mustachioed detective Hercule Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express (2017), Death on the Nile (2022) and the upcoming A Haunting in Venice.
But there is so much more to Branagh’s career. As a director, he’s dabbled in multiple genres, including fantasy, action, science fiction, thriller, comedy and superhero.
Branaghs career as an actor has been equally as diverse. He’s acted in legal thrillers, Westerns, romantic thrillers, animation, fantasy pics and dramedies.
And then there’s Shakespeare. There’s always Shakespeare. Branagh has a self-professed love of the Bard. He’s acted in and directed...
But there is so much more to Branagh’s career. As a director, he’s dabbled in multiple genres, including fantasy, action, science fiction, thriller, comedy and superhero.
Branaghs career as an actor has been equally as diverse. He’s acted in legal thrillers, Westerns, romantic thrillers, animation, fantasy pics and dramedies.
And then there’s Shakespeare. There’s always Shakespeare. Branagh has a self-professed love of the Bard. He’s acted in and directed...
- 9/15/2023
- by David Morgan
- Deadline Film + TV
Oscar-winning UK producer David Parfitt shared insights from the highs and lows of his 35-year producing career at a masterclass for the Doha Film Institute’s Qumra talent incubator over the weekend.
“I have been staggeringly lucky,” said Parfitt, who won an Oscar in 1999 for Shakespeare in Love with other high-profile credits including Much Ado About Nothing, The Madness Of King George, My Week With Marilyn and the Oscar-winning drama The Father.
Parfitt, who has worked in film and TV most of his life having started out as a child actor in the 1970s, said he knew from adolescence that he wanted to stay in the business but not in front of the camera. He credited Kenneth Branagh for enabling his crossover into producing.
The pair met on a West End theatre show in the 1980s.
“We had next-door dressing rooms. We were young and had too much time on our hands.
“I have been staggeringly lucky,” said Parfitt, who won an Oscar in 1999 for Shakespeare in Love with other high-profile credits including Much Ado About Nothing, The Madness Of King George, My Week With Marilyn and the Oscar-winning drama The Father.
Parfitt, who has worked in film and TV most of his life having started out as a child actor in the 1970s, said he knew from adolescence that he wanted to stay in the business but not in front of the camera. He credited Kenneth Branagh for enabling his crossover into producing.
The pair met on a West End theatre show in the 1980s.
“We had next-door dressing rooms. We were young and had too much time on our hands.
- 3/17/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Oscar and BAFTA-winning film producer David Parfitt is hoping to reunite with French producer Philippe Carcassonne following their successful collaboration on Florian Zeller’s Oscar-winning drama The Father.
Parfitt revealed his plans during a masterclass at the Doha Film Institute’s Qumra talent incubator event on Sunday.
“He [Carcassonne] is developing something really interesting based on an Israeli novel called Pain, which he commissioned as a French screenplay but they have decided they want to do it in England in English,” Parfitt clarified after the talk.
The 2019 novel by Zeruya Shalev revolves around a woman revisiting the double trauma of being caught up in a terror attack and abandonment by a lover when he comes back into her life a decade later.
Carcassonne’s partner, the actress and director Anne Fontaine, whose credits include Coco Before Chanel, is attached to direct the film, in what would be her first English-language production.
Parfitt revealed his plans during a masterclass at the Doha Film Institute’s Qumra talent incubator event on Sunday.
“He [Carcassonne] is developing something really interesting based on an Israeli novel called Pain, which he commissioned as a French screenplay but they have decided they want to do it in England in English,” Parfitt clarified after the talk.
The 2019 novel by Zeruya Shalev revolves around a woman revisiting the double trauma of being caught up in a terror attack and abandonment by a lover when he comes back into her life a decade later.
Carcassonne’s partner, the actress and director Anne Fontaine, whose credits include Coco Before Chanel, is attached to direct the film, in what would be her first English-language production.
- 3/12/2023
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Welcome to The Daily Stream, an ongoing series in which the /Film team shares what they've been watching, why it's worth checking out, and where you can stream it.
The Movie: "Much Ado About Nothing" (1993)
Where You Can Stream It: HBO Max, DirecTV
The Pitch: Kenneth Branagh's film adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Henry V," the filmmaker's first feature, was a massive success when it was released in 1989. Branagh was nominated for Best Actor and Best Director, and Phyllis Dalton won the Oscar for Best Costumes. The film caused a great deal of buzz around Branagh, and audiences kept a close eye on him. In 1989, he married actress Emma Thompson (who played Katherine in "Henry V"), and the two of them would proceed to work together incredibly well on several notable films. Thompson co-starred with Branagh in the excellent reincarnation thriller "Dead Again" in 1991, and she appeared as...
The Movie: "Much Ado About Nothing" (1993)
Where You Can Stream It: HBO Max, DirecTV
The Pitch: Kenneth Branagh's film adaptation of William Shakespeare's "Henry V," the filmmaker's first feature, was a massive success when it was released in 1989. Branagh was nominated for Best Actor and Best Director, and Phyllis Dalton won the Oscar for Best Costumes. The film caused a great deal of buzz around Branagh, and audiences kept a close eye on him. In 1989, he married actress Emma Thompson (who played Katherine in "Henry V"), and the two of them would proceed to work together incredibly well on several notable films. Thompson co-starred with Branagh in the excellent reincarnation thriller "Dead Again" in 1991, and she appeared as...
- 2/2/2023
- by Witney Seibold
- Slash Film
A series by Christopher James
Emma Thompson's output between 1994 and 1995 couldn't be more different.
Do one for them; do one for you. If you can still do projects for yourself, you can keep your soul.
— Martin Scorsese: A Journey
Emma Thompson was on a pretty incredible run in the early 90s. Following her Best Actress win in 1992 for Howard’s End, Thompson had a consistent streak of great films. In 1993, she received two acting nominations for her work in The Remains of the Day and In the Name of the Father. On top of that, she was delightful in the critically lauded Peter’s Friends and Much Ado About Nothing (the latter perhaps the hottest film of the 90s). By 1995, she would win her second Oscar for Sense and Sensibility in the Adapted Screenplay category. Every track record is bound to have a blemish. Sandwiched in between Merchant & Ivory...
Emma Thompson's output between 1994 and 1995 couldn't be more different.
Do one for them; do one for you. If you can still do projects for yourself, you can keep your soul.
— Martin Scorsese: A Journey
Emma Thompson was on a pretty incredible run in the early 90s. Following her Best Actress win in 1992 for Howard’s End, Thompson had a consistent streak of great films. In 1993, she received two acting nominations for her work in The Remains of the Day and In the Name of the Father. On top of that, she was delightful in the critically lauded Peter’s Friends and Much Ado About Nothing (the latter perhaps the hottest film of the 90s). By 1995, she would win her second Oscar for Sense and Sensibility in the Adapted Screenplay category. Every track record is bound to have a blemish. Sandwiched in between Merchant & Ivory...
- 6/4/2022
- by Christopher James
- FilmExperience
A series by Christopher James looking at the 'Gay Best Friend' trope
Who wouldn't want a 10 year college reunion in their rich friend's new mansion?I love a good Big Chill type set-up.
Yes, I do love the actual 1983 movie The Big Chill. However, the hit film has itself spawned an entire genre of movies and TV. How many movies have you seen where an attractive ensemble of longtime friends spend a weekend away and come to terms with central truths within the friendship. There’s always as many laughs as there are tears. The uptight people finally get drunk or stoned and loosen up. Party animals gain new depth. A collection of the greatest hits of decades past are played throughout, usually with an accompanying singalong. I eat all of it up, no matter how predictable it may be.
One of the finer entries in the genre is Kenneth Branagh’s 1992 film Peter’s Friends.
Who wouldn't want a 10 year college reunion in their rich friend's new mansion?I love a good Big Chill type set-up.
Yes, I do love the actual 1983 movie The Big Chill. However, the hit film has itself spawned an entire genre of movies and TV. How many movies have you seen where an attractive ensemble of longtime friends spend a weekend away and come to terms with central truths within the friendship. There’s always as many laughs as there are tears. The uptight people finally get drunk or stoned and loosen up. Party animals gain new depth. A collection of the greatest hits of decades past are played throughout, usually with an accompanying singalong. I eat all of it up, no matter how predictable it may be.
One of the finer entries in the genre is Kenneth Branagh’s 1992 film Peter’s Friends.
- 11/5/2021
- by Christopher James
- FilmExperience
For anyone who — toward the end of a long, loud, fractious familial gathering at Christmas — has ever fleetingly wished death on their nearest and dearest, “Silent Night” is an uncomfortable sort of wish-fulfilment exercise. Near the beginning of Camille Griffin’s ambitious, genre-melding debut feature, Keira Knightley’s stressed hostess announces that this year’s holiday is going to be “all about love and forgiveness”: the kind of thing people say every year, of course, though this time, the instruction has a sort of last-rites finality to it. For this will, it seems, be every guest’s last Christmas. A toxic cloud of lethal poison is sweeping the planet, and it’s set to hit Knightley’s luxe manor in the English countryside sometime past midnight on Dec. 26, so there’s nothing for the guests but to drink, feast and make merry as if there’s no tomorrow — because,...
- 9/17/2021
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
In “Silent Night,” first-time writer-director Camille Griffin wickedly weaves together holiday-movie and end-of-the-world–movie tropes, but once the shock of that juxtaposition wears off, we’re left with a slightly underboiled pudding, despite a sharp ensemble’s most valiant efforts.
Part “When the Wind Blows” (the grim 1986 animated feature about Brits keeping calm and carrying on in the face of nuclear disaster) and part “Peter’s Friends” (Kenneth Branagh’s 1992 comedy about school chums gathering in a big house for the holidays to drink too much and open old wounds), “Silent Night” assembles a group of family and friends to celebrate Christmas — only at midnight, Santa isn’t coming. Instead, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are scheduled.
Nell (Keira Knightley) and Simon (Matthew Goode) are hosting Christmas in their charming country home, and as usual they’ve invited their closest friends: upper-class twits Tony and Sandra, abrasive Bella and her soft-spoken girlfriend Alex,...
Part “When the Wind Blows” (the grim 1986 animated feature about Brits keeping calm and carrying on in the face of nuclear disaster) and part “Peter’s Friends” (Kenneth Branagh’s 1992 comedy about school chums gathering in a big house for the holidays to drink too much and open old wounds), “Silent Night” assembles a group of family and friends to celebrate Christmas — only at midnight, Santa isn’t coming. Instead, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are scheduled.
Nell (Keira Knightley) and Simon (Matthew Goode) are hosting Christmas in their charming country home, and as usual they’ve invited their closest friends: upper-class twits Tony and Sandra, abrasive Bella and her soft-spoken girlfriend Alex,...
- 9/17/2021
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
Imagine the protagonist of a Richard Curtis film woke up on the morning of whichever wedding or funeral they were to attend, suddenly cursed with self-awareness. The resulting movie, a comedy that elicits such bone-deep cringe it’s indistinguishable from horror, might look a lot like Andrew Gaynord’s “All My Friends Hate Me,” a ferociously witty, deeply British evisceration of upper-class Millennial anxiety, dedicated to the truism that if you can’t spot the asshole in any group of five or more people, the asshole is you.
Pete (Tom Stourton) is just back from a volunteer stint at a refugee camp, and is setting off in high spirits to spend his birthday weekend in the enormous stately home owned by his friend George (Joshua McGuire). Pete’s down-to-earth girlfriend Sonia (Charly Clive) will join him the following day, but initially it’s just going to be him and his...
Pete (Tom Stourton) is just back from a volunteer stint at a refugee camp, and is setting off in high spirits to spend his birthday weekend in the enormous stately home owned by his friend George (Joshua McGuire). Pete’s down-to-earth girlfriend Sonia (Charly Clive) will join him the following day, but initially it’s just going to be him and his...
- 6/11/2021
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
On March 26 1969, on a quiet country road outside Biloxi, Mississippi, John Kennedy Toole took his own life. Aged just 31, the literary professor and author left behind two unpublished novels. Over the course of the next decade, Toole’s grieving mother Thelma dedicated her life to ensuring the second of these, “A Confederacy Of Dunces,” found publication. Eventually, she succeeded, and the New Orleans-set picaresque tale of slovenly philosopher and medievalist Ignatius J. Reilly went on to sell over two million copies and won the Pulitzer Prize in 1981, making Toole one of only three writers to win the prize posthumously.
Almost as much as the book itself, readers were intrigued by the unique journey the novel took to publication, with a flamboyant yet grief-stricken mother dedicating what remained of her life to ensuring her son’s genius was recognized by the world.
Inevitably, with such a successful novel and such a compelling lead character,...
Almost as much as the book itself, readers were intrigued by the unique journey the novel took to publication, with a flamboyant yet grief-stricken mother dedicating what remained of her life to ensuring her son’s genius was recognized by the world.
Inevitably, with such a successful novel and such a compelling lead character,...
- 3/25/2021
- by Nathan O'Hagan
- The Wrap
Tributes have been paid from across the film industry to Green, who was joint managing director of Entertainment Film Distributors.
Tributes have been paid from across the UK film industry to Trevor Green, the joint managing director of Entertainment Film Distributors who died yesterday (Thursday April 30), aged 66.
Green had underlying health issues and had been in hospital for several weeks.
Together with his brother, Nigel, Trevor Green turned Entertainment into the UK’s leading independent film distribution company – the one outfit capable of competing on equal terms with the Us majors.
Entertainment handled a broad range of films, everything from...
Tributes have been paid from across the UK film industry to Trevor Green, the joint managing director of Entertainment Film Distributors who died yesterday (Thursday April 30), aged 66.
Green had underlying health issues and had been in hospital for several weeks.
Together with his brother, Nigel, Trevor Green turned Entertainment into the UK’s leading independent film distribution company – the one outfit capable of competing on equal terms with the Us majors.
Entertainment handled a broad range of films, everything from...
- 5/1/2020
- by 57¦Geoffrey Macnab¦41¦
- ScreenDaily
(L-r) Daniel Lapaine, Jacqueline McKenzie, Nathan Page and director Tony Tilse on set in Victoria.
The relationship between Essie Davis’ Phryne Fisher and Nathan Page’s Jack Robinson breaks new ground in Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears.
That’s according to Tony Tilse, who directed Every Cloud Productions’ murder-mystery/adventure/romance, which premieres in Australian cinemas on February 27.
“The lovely tension between Phryne and Jack is always there but the two of them on screen together is just magic in a way we haven’t seen before,” Tilse tells If.
“Nathan is fantastic, absolutely up there with Essie’s performance level. It’s beautiful to watch.”
Tilse, who was the set-up director of Ms Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, was the natural choice by producer Fiona Eagger and scriptwriter/executive producer Deb Cox
to helm the feature.
“After the third series we started talking about the movie as a way to continue the franchise,...
The relationship between Essie Davis’ Phryne Fisher and Nathan Page’s Jack Robinson breaks new ground in Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears.
That’s according to Tony Tilse, who directed Every Cloud Productions’ murder-mystery/adventure/romance, which premieres in Australian cinemas on February 27.
“The lovely tension between Phryne and Jack is always there but the two of them on screen together is just magic in a way we haven’t seen before,” Tilse tells If.
“Nathan is fantastic, absolutely up there with Essie’s performance level. It’s beautiful to watch.”
Tilse, who was the set-up director of Ms Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, was the natural choice by producer Fiona Eagger and scriptwriter/executive producer Deb Cox
to helm the feature.
“After the third series we started talking about the movie as a way to continue the franchise,...
- 2/19/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Tomorrow night, Marvel's Ultimate Spider-Man Vs. The Sinister 6 launches its second four-part Spider-Verse event, this time taking Peter Parker & Miles Morales on an all-new journey as they seek to reassemble the scattered shards of the Siege Perilous. The first installment, which airs tomorrow night, will feature the animated debut of Blood Spider, voiced by Ben Diskin (Spectacular Spider-Man), who will live in an alternate reality inhabited by vampiric versions of Peter's friends and teammates. Check out a new clip below and if you missed the recent casting news, head Here: Spider-Man and Kid Arachnid travel to alternate dimensions in order to gather the shards from the broken Siege Perilous. In season four of "Marvel's Ultimate Spider-Man vs. The Sinister 6," a confident Spider-Man feels like the ultimate hero after fighting alongside The Avengers and leading a team of heroes at S.H.I.E.L.D. Academy. However, when the wall-crawler...
- 8/27/2016
- ComicBookMovie.com
Hollywood went hunting for lots of British comedy talent in the 1990s - and lured the likes of Hugh Laurie, Stephen Fry and Emma Thompson...
For some reason, Hollywood fell in love with British actors again in the 1990s. Sparked by Alan Rickman's turn as Hans Gruber in Die Hard at the back end of the 1980s, many movie villains were either Brits, or in the case of Cliffhanger, John Lithgow taking on the mannerisms of a British antagonist.
Yet in particular, Hollywood went recruiting British comedy talent, with faces then mainly - but not exclusively - known for their small screen work getting roles of various sizes in Hollywood productions. Here are some who racked up the air miles - starting with the man who arguably became one of the most successful...
Hugh Laurie - 101 Dalmatians
Laurie is a man of many talents, who ultimately cracked America with...
For some reason, Hollywood fell in love with British actors again in the 1990s. Sparked by Alan Rickman's turn as Hans Gruber in Die Hard at the back end of the 1980s, many movie villains were either Brits, or in the case of Cliffhanger, John Lithgow taking on the mannerisms of a British antagonist.
Yet in particular, Hollywood went recruiting British comedy talent, with faces then mainly - but not exclusively - known for their small screen work getting roles of various sizes in Hollywood productions. Here are some who racked up the air miles - starting with the man who arguably became one of the most successful...
Hugh Laurie - 101 Dalmatians
Laurie is a man of many talents, who ultimately cracked America with...
- 4/20/2015
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
Kenneth Branagh chats to us about directing Cinderella, Cate Blanchett, Patrick Doyle and his favourite Jason Statham film.
With an opening weekend that topped $70m in the Us, Kenneth Branagh may have the hit of his movie directing career on his hands with his live action Cinderella take. It's a strong film too, that finally makes it to the UK this week. And ahead of its release, he spared us some time for a natter about it...
I think I've worked out what you're up to. I've worked out your ruse. You do Thor, Cinderella and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Three different juggernauts, aimed at three different segments of the market, opening your work up to an audience that may otherwise not be familiar with it.
This is all about selling DVDs of Peter's Friends, isn't it?
[Laughs] That would be a lovely by-product.
Were you consciously looking for different audience subsets,...
With an opening weekend that topped $70m in the Us, Kenneth Branagh may have the hit of his movie directing career on his hands with his live action Cinderella take. It's a strong film too, that finally makes it to the UK this week. And ahead of its release, he spared us some time for a natter about it...
I think I've worked out what you're up to. I've worked out your ruse. You do Thor, Cinderella and Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit. Three different juggernauts, aimed at three different segments of the market, opening your work up to an audience that may otherwise not be familiar with it.
This is all about selling DVDs of Peter's Friends, isn't it?
[Laughs] That would be a lovely by-product.
Were you consciously looking for different audience subsets,...
- 3/24/2015
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
Fresh from a triumph in New York, one of our most extravagantly talented stars will soon unveil one of her most cherished projects to date, Effie, a film about John Ruskin – lawyers permitting.
Picture gallery here
It was only a matter of time until the BBC broadcast images of Emma Thompson's downstairs lavatory. The combination of her larky sense of humour and love of a theatrical flourish made it somehow inevitable. And so last month it came to pass. The actress, having been overlooked for an Oscar nomination, was televised at her home receiving a "Mark"; a golden statuette in the likeness of the Observer's film critic, which was offered in recognition of her screen portrayal of the author of Mary Poppins, Pamela Travers.
She was, Kermode said, "sheer perfection in the complex role of 'Mrs Pl', never allowing the author to descend into crotchety caricature, constantly suggesting a...
Picture gallery here
It was only a matter of time until the BBC broadcast images of Emma Thompson's downstairs lavatory. The combination of her larky sense of humour and love of a theatrical flourish made it somehow inevitable. And so last month it came to pass. The actress, having been overlooked for an Oscar nomination, was televised at her home receiving a "Mark"; a golden statuette in the likeness of the Observer's film critic, which was offered in recognition of her screen portrayal of the author of Mary Poppins, Pamela Travers.
She was, Kermode said, "sheer perfection in the complex role of 'Mrs Pl', never allowing the author to descend into crotchety caricature, constantly suggesting a...
- 3/23/2014
- by Vanessa Thorpe
- The Guardian - Film News
Matt Smith has ditched Doctor Who for Patrick Bateman in American Psycho. It's quite a contrast, and he's not the first to do this sort of thing. So why do actors love these big switcheroos?
Matt Smith really doesn't want to be typecast as the guy from Doctor Who any more. That's why he's starring as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho – a musical stage version of American Psycho, in fact. As professional handbrake turns go, it's pretty drastic. But he isn't the first. History is littered with actors who've been pushed to extreme measures to break out of their typecasting straitjackets. Here are some of the best.
Hugh Grant
It's a shame nobody really saw Cloud Atlas, because it contained the largest assembly of actors performing against type in modern cinema. Lovely, funny Tom Hanks played a sort of post-apocalyptic caveman. Halle Berry was a male Korean dentist. But most startling of all,...
Matt Smith really doesn't want to be typecast as the guy from Doctor Who any more. That's why he's starring as Patrick Bateman in American Psycho – a musical stage version of American Psycho, in fact. As professional handbrake turns go, it's pretty drastic. But he isn't the first. History is littered with actors who've been pushed to extreme measures to break out of their typecasting straitjackets. Here are some of the best.
Hugh Grant
It's a shame nobody really saw Cloud Atlas, because it contained the largest assembly of actors performing against type in modern cinema. Lovely, funny Tom Hanks played a sort of post-apocalyptic caveman. Halle Berry was a male Korean dentist. But most startling of all,...
- 12/11/2013
- by Stuart Heritage
- The Guardian - Film News
In a scene in 2000's "High Fidelity," Jack Black and Todd Louiso's record store clerk characters are coming up with a list of the top five songs about death. Black mentions "You Can't Always Get What You Want," but Louiso reminds him that the song was used in "The Big Chill." "Oh, God, you're right," says Black, and the song is disqualified.
That's how toxic "The Big Chill" was to popular culture -- so much so that even unassailable items that preceded it, like the Rolling Stones classic, were tainted by association.
It's true, of course, that "The Big Chill," released 30 years ago this month (on September 28, 1983), touched a huge raw nerve in the culture and became an enormous mainstream hit as a result. It's also true that it's a very enjoyable movie, full of witty and truthful moments in well-wrought performances by a stellar ensemble of then-rising stars.
That's how toxic "The Big Chill" was to popular culture -- so much so that even unassailable items that preceded it, like the Rolling Stones classic, were tainted by association.
It's true, of course, that "The Big Chill," released 30 years ago this month (on September 28, 1983), touched a huge raw nerve in the culture and became an enormous mainstream hit as a result. It's also true that it's a very enjoyable movie, full of witty and truthful moments in well-wrought performances by a stellar ensemble of then-rising stars.
- 9/30/2013
- by Gary Susman
- Moviefone
The veteran actor may be jumping out of his deckchair to kill zombies in his new film – but don't, whatever you do, call him cool
Hello Richard! I like your new film (1).
Ooh yes, it's very good, isn't it? (2)
It's better than I thought it'd be.
That's exactly what I thought! I thought I wasn't going to like it at all, but I went with the grandchildren and we had a really good time.
What attracted you to Cockneys Vs Zombies?
Well, I don't often get the chance to play someone of my age. I'll be 80 in January, so I was playing this silly old fool in an old people's home. I was having a very nice time because the sun came out, and I was in a deckchair doing bugger all. And then people started shouting "There's a zombie! The zombie's after you!" It was lovely for me because zombies are very very slow,...
Hello Richard! I like your new film (1).
Ooh yes, it's very good, isn't it? (2)
It's better than I thought it'd be.
That's exactly what I thought! I thought I wasn't going to like it at all, but I went with the grandchildren and we had a really good time.
What attracted you to Cockneys Vs Zombies?
Well, I don't often get the chance to play someone of my age. I'll be 80 in January, so I was playing this silly old fool in an old people's home. I was having a very nice time because the sun came out, and I was in a deckchair doing bugger all. And then people started shouting "There's a zombie! The zombie's after you!" It was lovely for me because zombies are very very slow,...
- 11/9/2012
- by Stuart Heritage
- The Guardian - Film News
Here is last week's caption pic winner. This week's caption pic is at the bottom of the page.
Thanks to everyone for participating! The winner is ...
"We're here! We're steer! Get used to it!."
Thanks to Luke for this week's winning caption!
Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka at the reception celebrating the release of the limited edition fine art photography of Alan Cumming.
Weekend Birthdays! (Note: Birthday shoutouts are for out entertainers, allies, or for any celeb that seems to have a following on Ae). Rick Schroder is 42, Loretta Lynn is 80, Julie Christie is 71, Sarah Michelle Gellar is 35, newly out Douglas Spain is 38, Seth Rogen is 30, and the out Samantha Fox, one of the most faboo pop tarts of all time, is 46. What are your fave Sam songs? Here are mine: 5. "I Only Wanna Be With You." 4. "Naughty Girls (Need Love Too)," 3. "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now," 2. "I Wanna Have Some Fun,...
Thanks to everyone for participating! The winner is ...
"We're here! We're steer! Get used to it!."
Thanks to Luke for this week's winning caption!
Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka at the reception celebrating the release of the limited edition fine art photography of Alan Cumming.
Weekend Birthdays! (Note: Birthday shoutouts are for out entertainers, allies, or for any celeb that seems to have a following on Ae). Rick Schroder is 42, Loretta Lynn is 80, Julie Christie is 71, Sarah Michelle Gellar is 35, newly out Douglas Spain is 38, Seth Rogen is 30, and the out Samantha Fox, one of the most faboo pop tarts of all time, is 46. What are your fave Sam songs? Here are mine: 5. "I Only Wanna Be With You." 4. "Naughty Girls (Need Love Too)," 3. "Nothing's Gonna Stop Me Now," 2. "I Wanna Have Some Fun,...
- 4/13/2012
- by snicks
- The Backlot
When Rita Rudner makes a home movie, she doesn't mess around.
The endearing stand-up comic and sometime actress stars in "Thanks," a wry ensemble comedy making its national debut Thursday, March 29, on Showtime, in tandem with her latest comedy special, "Rita Rudner and 3 Potential Ex-Husbands."
In the film, Rudner plays Bunny, a good-hearted woman who has recently married into a dysfunctional clan headed by a crusty widower (sitcom veteran Paul Dooley). The film plays out as the older couple, his three adult children and their mates gather for three successive Thanksgivings while the country slides into a messy economic meltdown.
Rudner is also an executive producer on the film, which was written and directed by her husband, Martin Bergman, who cast the rest of the film with largely unknown members of a Southern California improvisational comedy troupe he and Rudner had worked with previously.
Describing "Thanks" as small and intimate...
The endearing stand-up comic and sometime actress stars in "Thanks," a wry ensemble comedy making its national debut Thursday, March 29, on Showtime, in tandem with her latest comedy special, "Rita Rudner and 3 Potential Ex-Husbands."
In the film, Rudner plays Bunny, a good-hearted woman who has recently married into a dysfunctional clan headed by a crusty widower (sitcom veteran Paul Dooley). The film plays out as the older couple, his three adult children and their mates gather for three successive Thanksgivings while the country slides into a messy economic meltdown.
Rudner is also an executive producer on the film, which was written and directed by her husband, Martin Bergman, who cast the rest of the film with largely unknown members of a Southern California improvisational comedy troupe he and Rudner had worked with previously.
Describing "Thanks" as small and intimate...
- 3/29/2012
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Zap2It - From Inside the Box
If anyone deserves the 2011 comeback of the year award it may just be Kenneth Branagh. The four-time Oscar nominee burst upon the scene in 1989 with his acclaimed adaptation of "Henry V." It was a remarkable achievement which he both directed and starred in at the ripe old age of 28. Branagh became a creative force and incredibly prolific during the early to mid-90's with more Shakespeare adaptations such as "Much Ado About Nothing" and a four-hour "Hamlet," the underrated thriller "Dead Again," cult comedy favorite "Peter's Friends" and the studio misfire "Frankenstein." His career hit a major bumpy patch...
- 12/28/2011
- Hitfix
A stiff drink is recommended to get you through this, and then another immediately afterwards. Richard E Grant stars as a wealthy industrialist who sponsors a production of Così fan tutte at his baronial country house, where the behaviour of cast and crew is meant to generate a comic – if not Mozartian – opera in itself. Sadly, the writer-director Christopher Menaul has no gift for farce, though after a while the clunking dialogue and the stagey set-ups exert a bizarre fascination: did I just dream Sarah Brightman's performance, or was that ghoulish apparition with the mad laugh actually her? It's basically Peter's Friends with opera buffa trimmings, and itself carries the whiff of a rich man's indulgence.
- 10/13/2011
- The Independent - Film
Another Hollywood legend has left us behind to pursue, we're sure, much better things on the other side. Still, we're sad to see him go, but wow, does he have a legacy to share.
According to THR Peter Falk, who won four Emmys for his portrayal of the rumpled TV detective "Columbo" as well as Oscar nominations for his first two films, Murder, Inc. and Frank Capra's last film A Pocketful of Miracles, died Thursday in Beverly Hills. He was 83.
Though he no doubt solved lots of ghastly murders in his television days, he's only officially dabbled in our genre three times on the small screen, twice for Alfred Hitchcock and once for "The Twilight Zone".
We here at Dread Central would like to take this time to offer our sincerest of condolences to Peter's friends, family, and constituents. Godspeed, sir. We hope they have a huge selection of...
According to THR Peter Falk, who won four Emmys for his portrayal of the rumpled TV detective "Columbo" as well as Oscar nominations for his first two films, Murder, Inc. and Frank Capra's last film A Pocketful of Miracles, died Thursday in Beverly Hills. He was 83.
Though he no doubt solved lots of ghastly murders in his television days, he's only officially dabbled in our genre three times on the small screen, twice for Alfred Hitchcock and once for "The Twilight Zone".
We here at Dread Central would like to take this time to offer our sincerest of condolences to Peter's friends, family, and constituents. Godspeed, sir. We hope they have a huge selection of...
- 6/24/2011
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Okay, so she's not a Dame yet. Shut up. It's only a matter of time!
Nanny McPhee costar Maggie Gyllenhaal at Emma's star ceremony
for Hollywood's Walk of Fame earlier this month.
Nanny McPhee Returns is on 2000+ of the nation's screens but I probably won't be seeing it. Remember two days back when we discussed what we were always looking for in a movie? One of my answers should have been beauty. I am not a beauty fascist in real life but I suppose I am at the movie theaters. Hollywood's great actresses should be immortalized with key lights, flawless makeup and evening gowns. Movie stars are supposed to be fantasies... our idealized selves. That's why Old Hollywood still has so much appeal. The studio system understood this. I like beauty on my silver screens so I really don't want to see Emma Thompson -- who can be just ravishing (see Much Ado About Nothing.
Nanny McPhee costar Maggie Gyllenhaal at Emma's star ceremony
for Hollywood's Walk of Fame earlier this month.
Nanny McPhee Returns is on 2000+ of the nation's screens but I probably won't be seeing it. Remember two days back when we discussed what we were always looking for in a movie? One of my answers should have been beauty. I am not a beauty fascist in real life but I suppose I am at the movie theaters. Hollywood's great actresses should be immortalized with key lights, flawless makeup and evening gowns. Movie stars are supposed to be fantasies... our idealized selves. That's why Old Hollywood still has so much appeal. The studio system understood this. I like beauty on my silver screens so I really don't want to see Emma Thompson -- who can be just ravishing (see Much Ado About Nothing.
- 8/21/2010
- by NATHANIEL R
- FilmExperience
For horror fans everyone who ever contributed to our genre is important, even if it was for only a couple of films. Legendary actor Peter Graves cut his teeth in the biz battling all manner of creatures during the Fifties and Sixties, and we're sad to say he's no longer with us.
Best known to fans from the Airplane! films, and as James Phelps on the hit television show "Mission: Impossible", Graves could also be seen back in the day fighting giant grasshoppers in The Beginning of the End, going toe-to-toe with The Eye Creatures, The Killers From Space, The Clonus Horror, and of course the hilarious looking psychic pointy headed alien veggie-monster from It Conquered the World.
Graves was found dead Sunday afternoon in front of his Pacific Palisades home from apparent natural causes. He was 83. We here at Dread Central would like to take this time to send...
Best known to fans from the Airplane! films, and as James Phelps on the hit television show "Mission: Impossible", Graves could also be seen back in the day fighting giant grasshoppers in The Beginning of the End, going toe-to-toe with The Eye Creatures, The Killers From Space, The Clonus Horror, and of course the hilarious looking psychic pointy headed alien veggie-monster from It Conquered the World.
Graves was found dead Sunday afternoon in front of his Pacific Palisades home from apparent natural causes. He was 83. We here at Dread Central would like to take this time to send...
- 3/15/2010
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
French actress Marion Cotillard has been busy parlaying her post-Oscar fame into roles in high-profile American projects, including Michael Mann's Public Enemies and the star-studded adaptation of the Broadway musical Nine. But she still has time for her home country as well, especially when it's a film directed by rising star filmmaker Guillaume Canet. Canet, who made last year's art-house hit Tell No One, will direct Cotilliard and a whole handful of her countrymen in Les Petits Mouchoirs, a tragicomedy about a group of friends taking their annual summer vacation together. If it sounds like a certain 80s movie with a hit soundtrack, you're on to something; the movie's producer Alain Attal told Variety "In the vein of The Big Chill and Peter's Friends, Mouchoirs mixes moments of high comedy and large emotions."...
- 5/17/2009
- cinemablend.com
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